Posts Tagged“north fork of long island”

Macari Vineyards 2009 Chardonnay

I seem to have built up a backlog of chardonnays that need to make their way to the NYCR tasting table. So, over the next couple of weeks, you can expect it to be a focus of reviews — along with some roses, some newly released summer whites and some other wines, of course. We’ll start the chardonnay parade with this Macari Vineyards 2009 Estate Chardonnay ($19) fermented in stainless steel, but showing some interesting lees characteristics on a nose dominated by juicy pear, pineapple and green tea. The nutty, slightly yeasty lees quality is  bit more pronounced on the dry, snappy,…

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Palmer Vineyards 2011 Aromatico

Miguel Martin, Spanish-born winemaker at Palmer Vineyards, flies under the radar. Instead of grabbing headlines or a lot of attention,  he simply works hard in the vineyard and cellar to not only produce impressives wines from the grapes you’d expect on the North Fork — grapes like cabernet franc, sauvignon blanc and pinot blanc — but also from those you might not expect, like New York’s first Albarino, which he introduced last spring. With Palmer Vineyards 2011 Aromatico ($25 per 500-ml bottle), Miguel adds to the unexpected end of roster. A blend of 72% muscat canelli and 28% malvasia, you…

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Merlot Bud Break at Shinn Estate Vineyards (April 6, 2012)

What was mere speculation and conjecture just a few weeks ago is now a reality on the North Fork. Shinn Estate Vineyards’ David Page sent me this photo this morning of bud break in their estate merlot vineyard, marking what appears to be the earliest bud break Long Island wine country has ever seen. The grape-growing process is a marathon, not a sprint, but the North Fork is certainly out of the gate early. Now local growers get to stress over nighttime low temperatures for the next month or so, hoping to avoid crippling frosts that could decimate their crops. Hopefully we’ll get…

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WTNs: Jamesport Vineyards New Releases (North Fork of Long Island)

"Our wines are made in the vineyard." It’s a wine industry cliché that you’ll hear at molst any winery these days. It’s so overused and appears on so many boilerplates that much of its meaning has been watered down and lost. Like many clichés however, it is firmly rooted in fact. Even the world’s greatest winemaker won’t be able to make outstanding wine from un-ripe, low-quality fruit. Winemakers may be the celebrities of the wine world — even here on Long Island — but the good ones know how important a top vineyard manager is. It’s a symbiotic relationship unlike…

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WTN: Raphael 2006 Sauvignon Blanc (North Fork of Long Island)

As you know, lots of Long Island winemakers still focus on the parallels between their own region and Bordeaux. Merlot and the cabernets–sauvignon and franc–are clearly the dominant red grapes here and they do well (except maybe sauvignon, which only thrives in the best years in the best locations). But, market conditions being what they are, most white wine made in these parts is made with chardonnay, the white grape of Burgundy. Those wines can be simple and gulpable or rich, complex and truly Burgundian, but they are nothing like white Bordeaux, which are made with sauvignon blanc and semillon.…

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WTN: Ackerly Pond Vineyards 2004 Merlot (North Fork of Long Island)

Over the past decade-plus, there has been an interesting phenomenon in Long Island wine, though it’s probably mere coincidence. It seems that even-numbered years tend to be cooler than the riper odd-number years, which include the well-regarded 1995, 2001 and 2005 years. Of course this isn’t a hard and fast rule. And it certainly doesn’t mean that there aren’t terrific wines in the cooler years. In fact, some of the most underrated wines–both red and white–that I’ve tasted lately have come out of the 2004 vintage, a slightly cooler, but still typical local year. Founded just less than a decade…

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WTN: Jamesport Vineyards 2006 Sauvignon Blanc (North Fork)

Most Long Island wineries focus on the red wine grapes of Bordeaux—particularly merlot—and the white wine grape of Burgundy—chardonnay. They are, by far, the two most planted varieties on the East End. Jamesport Vineyards is a little different. They make merlot and chardonnay of course—the market demands them. But, they also have a well established pinot noir program and consider the white wine of Bordeaux, sauvignon blanc, a speciality as well. Most local sauvignon is reared entirely in stainless steel tanks, which highlights the fruit character and results in fresh, lip-smacking wines that tend to be straight forward no matter…

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This Week On Appellation America (10/19/06)

This week on Appellation America, you can read my recommendations for two chardonnays made by Roman Roth at Wolffer Estate — a 2003 Reserve Chardonnay ($20) that shows nice balance and a stellar 2005 Late Harvest Chardonnay ($37) that should be good for another decade or five. Soon, they will also be publishing a Q&A I did with Raphael’s Richard Olsen-Harbich, who is also a LENNDEVOURS contributor. Rich has been working in the local wine industry for nearly three decades and actually authored the three local AVAs: Long Island, North Fork of Long Island, and Hamptons, Long Island. Appellation America…

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WTN: Lenz Winery 2001 “Old Vines” Cabernet Sauvignon (North Fork of Long Island)

The Lenz Winery has been making a lot of noise lately about its wines and how they rate against top-flight Bordeaux in professional blind tastings. It’s an interesting marketing hook to be sure. The recently released Lenz 2001 Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) is one of the wines that fared best. And I can see why. It’s obviously much more important that consumers like a wine (instead of critics), but something tells me this wine will be well received. "Old vines" doesn’t have any official meaning (much like "reserve") but this rich, deep purple-crimson cab is impressive nonetheless. The nose…

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